Gardener uses cool trick to nurture tulips

Home gardener Marylou Caputo of Palm Coast is proud of her hybrid tulips, which can be difficult to grow outside in Florida.

News-Journal/DANIELLE ANDERSON

DANIELLE ANDERSONCORRESPONDENT

Published: Wednesday, February 20, 2013 at 5:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, February 19, 2013 at 6:13 p.m.

PALM COAST — "If I can do it, anyone can do it," said Marylou Caputo of Palm Coast about her recent gardening success.

Tulips can be moody and need a lengthy cold snap to facilitate growth, something not common in Florida, so Caputo decided to conduct an experiment.

A gardener for nearly 22 years, she said she knows the right time of year to scope the stores for bulbs and lucked out with a stop at a Palm Coast store in September. Picking out some daffodil and tulip bulbs, she stowed them in her refrigerator for eight to 12 weeks to give them a "cooling off" period.

"Let tulips think they are in the ground up north," she said.

Around Thanksgiving, she popped the bulbs into the ground. Nestled among roses, irises and lilies, the tulips began to sprout in about three weeks.

"They started really slow then, half-way grown, they took off," she said.

Flagler County Master Gardener Jack Resser explained that tulips need that cool time. Removing bulbs from the soil as soon as the foliage turns brown and putting them in the refrigerator for six to eight weeks is his advice. Bone meal can be used as a fertilizer to help to strengthen the bulbs, he said.

Resser also stressed protecting the plants from pathogens in the soil, which can lead to rot.

<p>PALM COAST &mdash; "If I can do it, anyone can do it," said Marylou Caputo of Palm Coast about her recent gardening success. </p><p>Tulips can be moody and need a lengthy cold snap to facilitate growth, something not common in Florida, so Caputo decided to conduct an experiment. </p><p>A gardener for nearly 22 years, she said she knows the right time of year to scope the stores for bulbs and lucked out with a stop at a Palm Coast store in September. Picking out some daffodil and tulip bulbs, she stowed them in her refrigerator for eight to 12 weeks to give them a "cooling off" period. </p><p>"Let tulips think they are in the ground up north," she said. </p><p>Around Thanksgiving, she popped the bulbs into the ground. Nestled among roses, irises and lilies, the tulips began to sprout in about three weeks. </p><p>"They started really slow then, half-way grown, they took off," she said. </p><p>Flagler County Master Gardener Jack Resser explained that tulips need that cool time. Removing bulbs from the soil as soon as the foliage turns brown and putting them in the refrigerator for six to eight weeks is his advice. Bone meal can be used as a fertilizer to help to strengthen the bulbs, he said. </p><p>Resser also stressed protecting the plants from pathogens in the soil, which can lead to rot. </p><p>The white hybrid tulips with crimson accents stand out in Caputo's otherwise dormant winter garden. </p><p>"It was very easy," Caputo said of the process. "If you think it's going to grow, try it." </p><p></p><p>For information on gardening tips or Flagler County Master Gardeners, visit flaglercounty.org.</p>